Apple Ordered to Pay $302.4 Million for Patent Infringement

In an ongoing lawsuit between Apple and communication technology company, VirnetX Holding Corp., a jury has most recently ordered the former to pay the latter $302.4 million after it declared that Apple’s FaceTime feature infringes on VirnetX’s secure communications patent. This is not the first time the two companies have gone toe-to-toe with each other in a court of law; the drawn-out lawsuit began in 2010, when Apple was found guilty of infringing upon four patents and was ordered to pay VirnetX $368.2 million. The suit was thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals, along with a re-trial that doubled Apple’s fine to $625.6 million in July.

The case will now go the Federal Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, where the court will decide if Apple has engaged in patent infringement according to standards set by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the District Court of Texas. For VirnetX to be awarded the fine, Apple must be found guilty on both standards.

VirnetX obtains most of its revenue from licensing the patents it holds, levying similar lawsuits against Microsoft and Cisco. Patent infringement is a subset of intellectual property law that is prohibited by law. If you suspect another party has engaged in patent infringement against your company, reach out to Williams Kherkher at (713) 230-2200 to discuss your case in further detail.